the public on wednesday. >> decree and look super excited. >> i'm hitting the read. never miss an episode of "the five" ." "special report" is next. we have more of the maria bartiromo's interview coming up. >> bret: this is a fox news alert. i'm bret baier. north korea is warning of a nuclear attack against the united states if provoked. it is not the first time the communist nation has made an extreme threat against this country, but it takes on added meaning in the context of the north's nuclear testing. an american carrier strike group is on the way, and after the missile strike against syria, the possibility of military action by the new american president seems more realistic tonight. correspondent kevin corke is monitoring the latest developments from the north lawn. good evening, kevin. >> good evening to you. very interesting to watch this

fight has tried to walk us through the steps that have gotten us to this point, which is, might this white house be willing to do something against north korea with a sort of took action against syria just this past week? >> i want to thank everybody. >> the president spent the morning at the white house this morning talking about domestic policy issues like taxes and infrastructure. his focus remained abroad, the growing threat in the pacific posed by pyongyang. the president meeting early this morning that korea is looking for trouble. if china decides to help, that would be great, if not, we will solve the problem without them. that proclamation, a stark reminder of the president's willingness to go it alone. just as he did in syria following the gas attack on civilians there. in response, pyongyang threatened nuclear war. the official newspaper writing, "our revolutionary strong army is keenly watching every move by

enemy elements with our nuclear sites focused on the u.s. and visionary basis, not only in south korea and the pacific operation theater, but also in the u.s. mainland." reaction in the capital was predictably indignant. >> i think that the u.s. has no reason to complain about what our military doesn't for self-defense. i think that the u.s. should stop its double standard. >> at the white house, there was skepticism about nuclear capability but no doubt about the president's resolve. >> the last thing we want to see is a nuclear north korea that threatens the united states or, for that matter, any other country and any other side of human beings. we need stability in that region, and i think he has put them on notice. >> lost in the rhetoric? the broader white house message which was very likely aimed about 500 miles to the west at beijing. because as much as the syrian enterprise pressed moscow to present its partners into dama, it puts additional pressure on

china to corral kim jong-un once and for all. a strategy plainly visible in the president's tweet when he wrote this morning, "i explained to the president of china that a trade deal with the u.s. will be far better for them if they solve the north korean problem." that link is a well tried stick and carrot technique, and if successful, could break a stalemate with the north and provide a pathway to peace. speak no maxim plea speaking, the focus here is, if you want a different outcome as it relates to north korea and their behavior, you're going to have t would appear that the white house is prepared to do just that. >> bret: kevin, thank you. stand by if you would. we'll be back in a moment. secretary of state rex tillerson says russia is the key to the eventual removal of syria's current leadership, and america's top department is signaling an ultimatum to his

russian counterpart. correspondent rich edson reports from moscow. >> the highest-ranking trump administration official to travel to moscow has arrived, and secretary of state rex tillerson brings his firmest commitment you have to regime change in syria. >> it is clear to all of us that the reign of the assad family is coming to an end. we are not presupposing how that occurs, but i think it is clear that we see no further role for the assad regime long-term given that they have have given up tr legitimacy with these attacks. >> declared the coming end of syrian president bashar al-assad, yet he remains, with and because of russian support. tillerson says that is the key to removing a solid. >> i hope that what the russian government concludes is that they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partner.

now assad has made the russians look not so good under these circumstances. >> taylor saenz says that the chemical attack last week confirms that as the russian government brokered a deal to remove those weapons from syria. shortly before secretary tillerson's arrival, again denying that assad used chemical weapons. calling for an investigation into last week's chemical attack, and he said assad was printed with >> we have intelligence that some of her obligations are being prepared in other regions of syria, including southern suburbs of damascus where they are planning to plant chemicals and blame the syrian government for using them. >> saying there is no doubt assad used chemical weapons. administration is pointing out the nation supporting syria. senior officials say second tillerson will likely discuss several issues here, there is

also nato, the defense alliance that is opposed the soviet union and russia for nearly 70 years. this afternoon, president trump signed a ratification document bringing montenegro into nato. another uncertainty surrounding second tillerson's trip into moscow, whether he will meet with vladimir putin. for chickadees, the kremlin has been saying there is no such meeting on the schedule thus far. >> >> bret: rich edson. rich, thank you. syria is apparently willing to call the president's bluff on barrel bombs. the administration has suggested that type of attack might trigger a response similar to the one from last week's chemical weapons use. saying the syrians are already using the barrel bombs against rebel positions in the south. here is correspondent benjamin hall.

>> the tomahawk strikes last week have given so many people in syria hope, but on the ground, people are saying more is needed. fox news spoke to the commander of eight u.s.-backed brigade at a sophos in turkey. he told us that on the battlefield, they were now holding back enemies on numerous fronts paid >> isis was created by assad after he used excessive force. now we are fighting many terrorists. iran, which is a terrorist company, hezbollah, and isis too. >> telling us the attack had galvanized people in the area. >> life there is desperate now, and people are sad. but the attack has made us even more determined to fight the regime and protect our town. but we need more help. >> help, he said, from the assad air force, a no-fly zone, antiaircraft weapons, some in the u.s. have said it won't get pitched today, the syrian air force was back in action,

dropping in discriminant barrel bombs in hama province. it hasn't stopped the regime. it is impossible to cross into syria at the moment. there are too many armed groups come into many bombs, but from here, across the border in turkey, despite all the barbed layer, pictures drop out. >> amid the stories, the gas attacks last week. >> i saw my brother had tried to save my nephew, but he died over him and they lay there together. they were still forming from the mouth and nose >> abdul kareem lost his 11-month-old twins. he. then and his wife with his own hands. he spoke to us also about the american strike. >> the final decision will be up to the americans. they are the only ones that can do anything to help. it is the final line, the real issue.

only the u.s. has the power to help. >> there was a real sense that last week's tomahawk strike at a genuine effect on the strength, at least from geopolitical standpoint. on the ground, the battle is as brutal as ever. >> new mexico invention, thank you. the top man at the pentagon says there is no doubt syria's government was behind it. defense secretary jim mattis has issued a warning. good evening, jennifer. >> defense secretary mattis stop short of blaming anyone other than the syrian regime for the chemical weapons attack exactly a week ago today. he would not say it, when asked, whether russia knew about the chemical weapons attack in advance. >> there have been mixed messages from the administration about whether you are calling for a regime change in syria. are you prepared -- are you

calling for assad to step aside, and are you prepared militarily if you were to step aside tomorrow? >> the strakes that were talking about here today was directed at the people who planned it, who held onto the weapons contrary to what they had promised the united nations and the international community when they said they had gotten rid of all those weapons. and the reason for the strike was that alone. it was not a harbinger of some change in our military campaign. >> mattis all but ruled out responding to assad's new use of barrel bombs. without talking of redlines, mattis issued a clear line to the syrian regime that if it uses chemical weapons again, the u.s. would act. he described u.s. actions as a measured military response, adding the pentagon believes assad has used chemical weapons several times in the last several years, including

chlorine gas. >> i just want to say very clearly that the use of chemical weapons, contrary to the geneva convention that syria signed up for, using chemical weapons that syria agreed under u.n. pressure to remove from their arsenal, those chemical weapons that the russians certified were gone, that if they used chemical weapons, they are going to pay a very, very stiff price. >> mattis would not be drawn into a discussion on north korea or whether the movement of the u.s. and the carl vinson aircraft carrier strike group was designed to send a message. >> bret: jennifer, thank you. let's quickly go back to the white house. kevin corke was at the white house press briefing when the press secretary had to walk back a statement that really raised eyebrows around the globe. sean spicer trying to make a point about last week's chemical weapons attack in syria. take a listen. >> it is in the same category as nuclear weapons for a reason.

it is that lethal, it is that deadly, it is that horrific. we didn't use chemical weapons in world war ii. you had, you know, someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. so you have to, if you are russia, ask yourself, is this a country and a machine you want to align yourself with. >> obviously, hitler gassed millions. the reaction was swift, kevin, you were there. spicer issued two clarifications. >> he did. in the briefing itself, he was asked about it. basically tried to make the distinction, perhaps on artfully, that he was talking about aircraft delivery of chemical weapons in this particular case. in doing so, trying to draw the distinction between the despotic and heinous acts of bashar al-assad and adolf hitler, it came across as if he was suggesting, as he pointed out in that clip, that somehow adolf hitler never used gas to

attack civilians. well, he obviously tried to clarify that and went so far as to issue a statement. just so you get a sense of what sean spicer is saying about this, and what he is really saying at this point is, look, in no way it was i trying to lessen the tremendous nature of the holocaust. i was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes dropped chemical weapons on population centers. any attack on innocent people is inexcusable. it seems like he is trying to watch this back because of a sort of gap, if you will. this is gonna mount social media, the anne frank's letter calling for his resignation as is the house minority leader, nancy pelosi. but my sources tell me, he's not going anywhere. >> i better not. kevin corke five on the north lawn. president trump says he is essentially claiming a president obama's mess in syria. the president spoke with fox business networks

maria bartiromo, and she is with us tonight. the president came down pretty hard on his predecessor. >> he reiterated pretty hard today that he inherited a mess, and whether the chemical weapons in syria or the saverin's of president trump and his team, ie transition you said that president obama was really gracious. do not feel that way? he said, after learning what i've learned, i actually do feel different. with regard to syria, he was pretty clear that this is not the beginning of a new entanglement, but that he is going to make sure that the syrians know and the russians know that if, in fact, we see atrocities like that, the u.s. will not stand down. remember, many people believe that secretary kerry was an advocate for even a limited strike, and president obama kept pushing back. he rejected it. that is certainly what president trump feels today.

>> president trump is also saying some very tough things about bashar al-assad, obviously. >> in answer to my question about the impact on russia, he said he is an animal, basically. he said, look, when i saw those pictures of those dying babies in their father's arms, i had to act. but i said to him, look, they had a response, and they said this will damage the relationship between the u.s. and russia. here's what he said about that. >> frankly, putin is backing a person that is truly an evil person, and i think it is very bad for russia. i think it is very bad for mankind. it is very bad for this world. but when you drop a gas or bombs, barrel bombs with dynamite, drop them right in the middle of a group of people, and in all fairness, he satan to make see these same kids, no legs, no arms, no face, this isn animal. >> obviously he defended the

action. he has come support in syria. people feel that was the right move. >> bret: obviously he feels emboldened by that reaction. you also asked about domestic priorities. here is a sound bite about going after health care may be reform. >> we are going to have a phenomenal tax reform, but i have to do health care first. i want to do it first to really do it right. >> do you have to do health care before tax reform? >> yes. if you don't do that, you can't but the savings into the tax cuts. >> have you moved off of this deadline of august to get this done? are you looking at a later on the air? >> i don't want to put deadlines. health care is going to happen. if it doesn't happen fast enough, i'll start the taxes, but the t tax cuts are better if i can do health care first. so when do you sense that he is emboldened by what he is hearing from capitol hill team that

maybe they do have the votes and the deal? >> it feels like -- well, they've been working on this. while the rest of the country was thinking this was that in the water, they have been negotiating. that's what he keeps saying, we are negotiating. the answer is, $900 billion. that's why they have to get health care done. they have to pay for the tax cuts, and these tax cuts, taking the rates down, cutting taxes for most americans as well as corporate tax coming down, emboldened businesses to actually cut spending and hire people and invest in their businesses. so because health care, taking away those obamacare taxes will save $900 billion, that is why he is so set on doing health care first. i don't think the august deadline is in place. i think it is going to be much later in the year. i do think he is committed to tax reform. he is going to have another battle. i spoke with another congressman who said, look, i can't support doing away with the property deduction. he's going to have a back-and-forth about deductions

and the so-called border adjustment tax. >> when you talk to the ceos, that is what they care about the most. >> that is what they think is going to move the needle. we have got the highest corporate tax rate in the world, taking it down to 20% would do a lot in terms of their willingness to spend money on new jobs. >> bret: rio, as always, thank you page the interview tomorrow? >> tomorrow morning, "mornings with maria," 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. >> bret: the first congressional election since president trump won, are republicans already in trouble and read kansas? here from our fox affiliates. box 11 in kansas, class is canceled at an elementary school in san bernardino that was the scene of a murder suicide, counselors being made available for nearby students and staff, the closure comes a day after a man walked into his estranged wife classroom and open fire, killing her and an 8-year-old student. he then fatally shot himself.

fox 23 portland, maine, play makes an emergency landing on interstate 2:30 five. pilot and passenger walked away with only minor injuries. no one on the ground was hurt. one car had to swerve to avoid the plane as it landed. and this is a life look at orlando from our affiliate fox 35. one of the big stories, florida's governor declared a state of emergency as more than 100 active wildfires burn across 20,000 acres. they have not received a lot of rain down there. the state's agricultural director says the state has not seen this active wildfire season since 2011. they need the rain. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway. from "special report," we'll be rightfe back. more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance.

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>> united airlines is getting a major backlash tonight from that video of the passenger being dragged up a fight sunday in chicago, the man refusing to give up his seat to make room for a united employee. the passenger was later seen appearing dazed with blood on his face. the united ceo issued another apology to david says his employees follow established procedures and called the passenger disruptive and belligerent. the officer who grabbed the passenger has been placed on leave. president trump spokesman saying today that the president is staying out of it. >> i think there is clearly going to be enough review both on the corporate side and on the law-enforcement side on how this was handled. i think from a human to human standpoint to watch a human being gets dragged down an aisle with their head banging up armrests and not think that it could have been handled better,

i would assume we can probably all agree on that. >> bret: united-continental holding stock was a little more than one percentage down. stocks overall were off today, the dow lost 7, s&p 500, 3. talking the nation's top cop isn arizona. issuing a new, get even tougher approach that opponents call fearmongering. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge reports. >> attorney general jeff sessions, touring the arizona-mexico border, 94 u.s. attorneys to bring cases against those entering the u.s. illegally. >> we will now be detaining all adults who are apprehended at the border. they will not be released. >> the plan, laid out in this three-page memo, asks each to designated a border security coordinator. prosecutors are now considering whether family charges can be

brought against those who have crossed illegally multiple times. sessions said new data shows the trump administration's multilayered approach is paying dividends paid from january to february, session said, illegal crossings dropped by 40%. last month, the numbers were down 72%. on sunday, secretary of state tillerson was asked about his meeting with the foreign minister. suggested there are bigger issues than the wall. >> did you make it clear the united states expects mexico to pay for the border wall? >> we had no conversation about that issue. >> with the legal border traffic down, fox news asked the attorney general of the border wall remains a priority. >> the wall is a force multiplier of great proportions. it is going to enable us when we deport criminal aliens and others have been in the country illegally that they don't get to come back, as we are seeing today. >> bids have now closed with a

reported 800 firms submitting ideas ranging from solar panels to zigzagging barriers of wire mesh. testing the prototypes will begin almost immediately. the homeland security secretary has consistently said the wall goes beyond bricks and mortar, and the trump administration timeline is ambitious. >> how quickly will construction begin? >> i don't think it will be more than a few months. it involves discussion, clearly, a physical barriers, but also of technological sensors, things like that. >> critics say the trump administration's new initiative initiatives, anti-immigrant, and they accuse the attorney general of wrongly linking immigration to increased criminal activity. >> bret: catherine, thank you. voters in south-central kangas will fill a new seat tonight. mike pompeo became this president's director. the democrats are putting up an

unexpectedly tough fight there, national correspondent william la jeunesse shows us. >> i am running for u.s. congress. i am a fighter, and i don't back down. >> he sounds like an independent. >> things aren't working, no matter who is in charge. >> even a conservative. but make no mistake, james thompson is a democrat aiming for an upset. >> we have the opportunity to flip this flu. >> if they're going to win districts like this, democrats are probably going to be on the march nationwide, not because democrats are necessarily popular, it would be because the president is unpopular. >> kansas' fourth district is deep red, but the race to fill the seat vacated by former congressman, now-see a director mike pompeo is unexpectedly close, prompting this last-minute attack ad from the party. >> james thompson supports late-term abortion. >> followed by a verbal call

from president trump. >> on tuesday, republican ron estes needs your vote and needs it badly. >> looking to rescue republican nominee ron estes. >> i want to go to washington to change washington. >> policieswise, estes and thompson are worlds apart. >> that is why i support keeping politicians from becoming lobbyists. >> estes says this election is about the governor or trump but he recognizes its implications. >> i think there is some national emphasis on this just from a standpoint of, this is the first election since the president was sworn in. >> a safe district suddenly up for grabs isn't what republicans anticipated three months after winning the white house, but what make analyst neil ellman says it captures public opinion in a way that polls don't. >> gives us a chance to see what

president trump can do or not do for his party. >> today, president trump said via tweet that estes could help him pass tax and health care reform. some democrats reading the tea leaves believe that even a narrow loss would be a victory because registration with republicans is so great. others believe it is too early to draw any conclusion this far out. >> we will have all of the results here on the fox news channel. william, thank you. tonight, we continue our series on the opioid epidemic with a look at where the pharmaceutical industry fits in. correspondent doug mckelway tells us it is a simple path, really. you just have to follow the money. >> in a coal mine exploded here 1951 killing 11 miners, it suffered its worst disaster. since then, a new disaster,

quiet and unseen, has ruined more lives here. now spreading across the country, america is only now beginning to address it. >> this pharmacy under a previous proprietor under a previous name, could arguably be considered ground zero in america's prescription opioid epidemic. from june to september of 2006, the pharmacist here ran what prosecutors called a pill factory, ranking in as much as $20,000 in cash every day, which may have led to the heroin epidemic here in west virginia, ohio, kentucky, and virtually across appalachia. >> there is such an abundance of cash that they could not close the cash register drawer. >> the attorney calls himself the father of the west virginia approved lawsuit industry with over 100 suits settled, 30 others ongoing. the save rate pharmacy case was his first. he hired a private detective to shoot this video that helped reveal how drug manufacturers,

distributors, and patients all helped play a role in the prescription opioid epidemic. while much of it was fueled by greed, at the root of it all is addiction. >> this is the day i was given my life back, the day i went to jail. >> she popped her first pain killer at 12 and was shooting up oxycontin by 15. paint scars on her wrist still show the needle marks nine years after she turned her life around and became an addiction counselor. she describes the euphoric sensation that opioids like oxycontin's produce. >> your body just gets a warm sensation that makes everything in the world so much better. even though you don't realize you're destroying everything in your life. >> and the withdrawal? >> you lie in bed and you shake and you feel like you could cut your legs up or your arms off and it would feel better. >> a patient's pathological need to end that pain has led to what some unethical pharmacists took advantage of. >> they would have assistance to

make assistants literally did a pro forma evaluation and just ran them through and then would fax the prescription or even just the name of the person, in some instances, to the selected pharmacy. >> the prescription almost always would be for 30 pills or more. any less, and patient might not get addicted. doctors would receive a financial cut for every prescription sold by the pharmacist. >> it was, first visit, $350. follow-up visit, $175. >> this played out in the premises far beyond west virginia. >> there have been pill mills that are popped up in different areas of the country, and these are operations where, cash only, no prescription required. >> as nationwide delivery of opioids skyrocketed through the first part of the 21st century, the drug enforcement agency,

which is tasked with tracking sales, raised almost no red flags. >> 1993, your agency approved the production of this opioid narcotic to the tune of three and a half tons, three and a half tons of opioids. by the year 2015, that number was up to 150 tons of opioids paid >> prescription of distribution records shows one town in rural west virginia became one of the busiest distribution endpoints for opioids in the country, far surpassing many major cities, yet it raised no apparent dea suspicion. the end result, three major distributors prescription opiates sent 423 million opioids to west virginia. the damage now done, all parties are reassessing their approach. doctors and pharmacists are being told to limit pill numbers. >> allow pharmacists to dispense only what you need rather than having people have the source to

stockpile opioids. >> opioids that can be questioned a powder or liquefied. they are tracking wholesale distribution better and are enforcing criminal penalties. and one effective deterrent continues unabated. just the last week in march, three more lawsuits were filed against distributors, accusing them of flooding the state of west virginia with highly addictive prescription pain medications. the suits seek damages for treatment, prevention, and hospitalizations. they don't even mention the untold number of deaths which have a occurred here. >> bret: amazing. doug mckelway in west virginia. one expert saying, we are erasing, essentially, whole generation of middle america. tomorrow, kristin fisher takes a look at the economic followed of the opioid epidemic as our series continues. north korea threatens to nuke the u.s. what should president trump do about it? we'll get reaction from the panel when we come back.

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♪ >> putin is backing a person that is truly an evil person. this is an animal. even some of the worst tyrants in the world didn't use the kind of gases that they used, and some of the gases are unbelievably potent. >> i trust he regrets it now, considering the damage done to his air force, but when i say he should think long and hard about it, i'll just let the mission speak for itself on that score. >> the iranian regime, has below, is that a long-term alliance that serves russia's interests? >> bret: ahead of meetings, don't think they he will meet with vladimir putin, but we will see. this is the line is being drawn

about what further action may look like in syria. if syria uses barrel bombs, which they have been using against rebels, it looks like the u.s. is going to act. here's the defense secretary. >> it is not about whether it is delivered with an artillery shell or delivered by a barrel bomb or a fighter aircraft, it is about chemical weapons, and we've made clear where we stand on that. president trump has made it exceedingly clear with the united states stands on that sort of malfeasance. >> bret: let's start in syria, also talk about north korea, let's bring in our panel, laura ingraham, white house correspondent for the associated press, julie pace, and nationally syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. they are feeling emboldened by the reaction, i think, to this action in syria. but there are questions about what is next. >> i think it is interesting that tillotson was talking about what is in rush's interests, and

you can see the slight movement, perhaps, toward re-engagement of the old soviet union, the election tampering, put that aside for a moment. is there ever going to be a solution in syria without russia and the united states coming to some understanding, whether it is part of a grand plan or grand bargain involving not expanding nato or the ukraine or peeling i ran out of the situation. a lot of smart people have written about this. it is difficult to see how this ends with just the united states getting involved, more military strikes, without putin coming to that conclusion that tillotson referenced. how is this good in rush's long-term interests. the fact that he said that, i have my concerns about getting mired in the middle east again. i thought that was smart the way he phrased that. i was heartened. >> bret: there is this parsing of words about regime change and

what nikki haley, the investor to the u.n. has said, with the secretary of state has said, but aren't they saying regime change in a political-diplomatic sense, not boots on the ground. >> it doesn't sound at this point like we are talking about a u.s.-led military effort to oust him from office. what i am struck by when you hear nikki haley over the weekend, tillerson to a lesser extent, talk about assault. they talk about how unsustainable it is for assad to stay in power, how they don't see a future for him in office. the exact same things that the obama administration was saying for years. the problem is, how do you force that. as to laura's point, russia doesn't believe that they have a reason to walk away from assad. we don't see yet from this administration how they are going to put that pressure on russia and iran to back away from assad. >> bret: charles? >> i am always a little bit wary

about american secretaries of state or defense trying to instruct russia. i would think the russians have a better idea of that. brings me back to john kerry telling the russians it was a mistake to go into the ukraine intake crimea. i think it worked out rather well for the russians. the reason the russians are in there is not in affection for assad, but because as of result of their involvement, they now have a naval base in warm water mediterranean, they have an active, very powerful air base in syria, they have a presence in the middle east. they are the power. they have displaced the united states, their entire foreign policy under putin as to recover the glory and territory and influence of the old soviet union one piece at a time. and it does that by taking away from the united states. it is a zero-sum game. the idea we're going to persuade

them, it is not in your interest to stay with iran and hezbollah, who are we to say? of course it is in the russian interest. they have succeeded in doing it, and unless we show them a reason to abandon it, they are not going to leave. >> and they're in there because of the vacuum created by president obama and his administration. >> and the lack of pushback. they went in and 2015, they are now ensconced, and we have to worry. if we are going to establish, for example, a safe zone, which we could have done for years, now we have to worry about engaging with the russians, which we are not going to do. this is all a plus for the russians, and the idea that we are going to tell them what is in their interests is almost amusing. >> bret: 59 tomahawk missiles, isn't that a message? >> are not all on board with this whole approach, but it was a message. was it definitive? of course it wasn't. assad was flying a couple of days later.

he made a point to say, you haven't stopped us, you ain't going to stop us. russia has a lot to gain from united states who is willing to reengage with them. we don't want russia or china to get engaged, that's an interesting policy, and if donald trump stayed true to his core, which was, we want to make sure we take care of our allies, america first, all of that, the pivot to asia at some point has to happen. otherwise, we could spend another 15 years and lose thousands of more men. support i want to clean up what has become a big moment online from the white house press secretary today talking about the use of chemical weapons. as a reaction to what sean spicer said. we had a form of defense secretary and cia director now weighing in and sean spicer has come out with another statement clarifying what he meant. >> you know, the press secretary is important. he is the one who speaks on

behalf of the administration. and when he says the kind of stupid things that he did today, it hurts the administration. it changes the story. >> well, today, i was trying to describe the attack that assad made on his own people with the use of chemical weapons. frankly, i used -- mistakenly used in an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the holocaust to which there is, frankly, no comparison. obviously that is not what i was intending to do. and especially during this week, a regret using that term, apologize, and hope we can continue to focus on the president's decisive action he took to make sure we deal with syria. >> bret: he tried to clean it up, came back after the cameras and did around, politics 101, stay away from hitler. >> hitler references are a bad idea in pretty much any circumstance. i think it is good he came out and apologized without any caveats to it.

it was a distraction for the president. but it is a real lesson for this white house, and what you say at that podium is u.s. policy. it represents the president, and you can't win it there. it is a place where you have the ability to really do harm to the president's message every day. >> i think it was mike kinsley who once said, "the one row and debating is, whoever invokes hitler first loses." spicer is way over his head. he made a terrible mistake. i thought he was rather sincere. he really wasn't thinking about it. there was no malevolence intended. i give him a pass. it is a mistake. it is the holy week. let's let it go. >> bret: quickly i want to touch, laura, on north korea. this is what john mccain said about the threat that we are facing there. >> the most immediate crisis right now is this crazy fat kid. he is not rational.

everything i have read about him, he is not rational. diverse kind of adversary would be an irrational person with a nuclear weapon. >> here are the president's tweets on this. as north korea says, you do anything, we are going to nuke you." >> may be calling the north korea and the fat idiot or crazy fat kid, if he is not unstable, you probably don't want john mccain out there calling him that. >> bret: but dennis rodman -- quote >> more like a cabbage patch doll, but that is an aside. >> i think that is really the thing that does concern donald trump the most. he said it to friends. the thing that keeps him up at night is north korea. precisely because the guy is so

unpredictable. kills anyone who gets in his way, make the same charge about putin, maybe not so many of his family members have been killed. this guy has is bound to do anything. they always saber battle, they . i'm not sure that's going to work. representative in place, they've got to come to some deal on that because that is hurting us. i think this truly does keep the president up at night. i think it is a concern and i don't think it is overblown. >> bret: will be talking this a lot with the carrier strike group heading that way. next up, the president's domestic policy agenda. choice of doctors and pharmacists for their own frequent heartburn. for all day and all night protection... banish the burn... with nexium 24hr.

we were in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen. so i just started poking around on ancestry. then, i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. it turns out i'm scottish. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt.

♪ >> we are going to have a phenomenal tax reform, but i have to do health care first. want to do it first to really do it right. >> do you have to do tax reform first? they say tax reform is so much more impactful. >> they are all right. but because i am saving a tremendous amount, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars were saving on health care, so we're going to have a much better plan than obamacare, which is failing. even now, as i came in here, they are saying payments have to be made that weren't scheduled to be made on obamacare. it's just a mess. obamacare is a total mess. you're saving tremendous amounts of money on health care, when we get this done, number one, most importantly, we are going to have great health care. all that saving goes into detec detect. -- into the taxes.

>> have you moved off of this soft deadline? are you looking at that later in the year? >> i don't want to protect deadlines paid health care is going to happen at some point. if it doesn't happen fast enough, i'll start taxes, but they are better if i can health care first. >> bret: president trump with maria bartiromo today talking about the agenda. we are back with the panel. they are fairly confident over at the white house that they can get a deal, even though it looked like it was dead, that they are going to resurrect something on health care. >> a couple of friends and the freedom caucus told me last week, we had some distance, it was narrowing, it has narrowed further. if they can squeeze out a deal on this where people are happy enough, that will give the president so much more running room on the things he really has to get accomplished to really get this economy moving, has to get this tax reform through.

obamacare, i think he's right. $900 billion that he could say but the initial bill. i think in the end, if they pull this of, the entire holdup would've been a good thing for him, but they've got some heavy lifting. >> it is still a big if. >> it is a huge if. they have narrowed the differences but not all the way. every time you gain a couple of votes on the right, you lose more in the moderate wing. this is both a policy and political imperative. he is right that the whole policy he has is to get those savings to put toward tax reform, without health care, the tax reform, which was always going to be hard, gets that much harder. politically, for him, to get to beat 100 day mark, a bit of the invention of the media, but it does have a psychological impact, to get to the 100 mark and have the health care versus

any progress, a huge difference maker. >> bret: clearly, he is invested. >> it could essentially determine the success of the presidency, just about every presidency, that is what matters the most, particularly for a man who ran on the economy and jobs. he has to get health care. otherwise he winds up, not just with the more difficult task and getting tax reform, but the tax reform that he would end up with in the absence of health care reform would be a very small and modest one which would have a limited impact on the economy. i think he is right. i think it is possible to bridge the gaps between the moderates and the hard-liners in the house, but it is going to get lost in the senate. it would be, i think, is psychological success, victory for trump, if he brought back the congress, got the house to pass it. but the chances of getting out of the senate and back and passed are still small.

>> bret: quickly, laura, conversations with rand paul, senator ted cruz, all you need is 51. >> and he has worked those relationships, on the golf course, on the phone, they have become very close in this process. this is where donald trump is going to have to put it all on the line. it is him here, not rick dearborn, it is donald trump and he has got to know the policies and have the relationships. >> if you lose three republicans in the senate, it goes down to two. >> bret: it is all about math. that does it for the panel. up next, a nosy neighbor with a new best friend.

say carl, we have a question about your brokerage fees. fees? what did you have in mind? i don't know. $4.95 per trade? uhhh. and i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee? guarantee? where we can get our fees and commissions back if we're not happy. so can you offer me what schwab is offering? what's with all the questions? ask your broker if they're offering $4.95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee. if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab.

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peaking penny so she can see next door, all is right with the neighborhood. seeking solutions for peeking penny. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. fair, balanced, and unafraid. >> martha: breaking tonight, 82 days in and it is election time again folks. a vote in kansas tonight that has political players like vice president mike pence and ted cruz working overtime here. polls are about to close. this is mike pompeo's old seat. were going to tell you why it may be a 2018 red flag. ♪ good evening everybody prayed on martha maccallum welcome to "the first 100 days." today, the president takes on two of the most feared dictators on the world stage. and he came out swinging. first against north korea's kim jong-un. watch.